First Post of 2015

Welcome to my first blog post of 2015!

Not much has changed since I last posted. I lost my cats over the winter. One was found living in someone's yard in a city 20 miles away and returned thanks to AKC Reunite's microchip. The other, my Princess, is still missing. We think someone took both cats (they're quite friendly & live outdoors) and then for whatever reason, dumped one or both. Thankfully Annabelle was hand raised by me since she was 3 weeks old, so she's a people cat. They managed to catch her and a local shelter scanned her, found the chip, and then the wonderful people at AKC Reunite gave me a call and told me where to find her. We're currently working on moving her into the house, but with 3 dogs, plus trying to suddenly make an outdoor cat stay inside, it isn't going well.

I'm still trying to get things ready to move. It's easier said than done. I have to go through all of my family's boxes full of crap in the basement to see what stays and what goes. I also have to get my 3 dogs & cat medically up to snuff, which means I'll likely be posting a fundraiser soon. One dog is going on 12 with terrible teeth, arthritis, and various other issues (he came to me that way). Mika, my Chihuahua, still needs her bad knees fixed. All the dogs need shots & heartworm/flea/tick preventatives, and the cat needs the same as well as deworming. It's going to be a process, for sure. 

I decided to switch up my look a little. I've never been blond for more than 10 minutes (between dyeing my hair blue & going from blue to orange back in middle school) but I decided to give it a go. It's been almost a month and I'm really liking the change. I'm also trying to secure a membership to a good gym to try and strengthen my muscles and lose a bit of weight. I'm also hoping that my family can pay for my new glasses soon, being blind isn't exactly pleasant!

The weather here is finally getting nice, which means I have a bit more energy to do things, and I've already taken a few walks on the trails by my house. 

I'm really hoping 2015 is just as awesome, if not more, than 2014 was! 

Long overdue! So, what's in store for 2013?

Hey guys!

I hope you all had an amazing holiday season! I ended up dealing with a few health hiccups over the holidays, here's an overview:
Dec. 23rd - Found a lump in my right breast. We have a huge family history of breast cancer. I panic.
Dec. 24th - Went to my GP, she said she didn't think it was cancer, but one of the symptoms other than the lump, raised a red flag. She said I could possibly have a brain tumor. Scheduling person was out of office, had to wait until the 26th to schedule an MRI and a breast ultrasound.

The ultrasound came back clean, no cancer. The MRI, on the other hand, showed a "fullness" in my pituitary. I have to see an endocrinologist, because I probably have a microadenoma. Lovely.

Fast forward to 10 days ago. I was walking down the stairs to go outside and get the mail, when Codi, my mum's Dachshund, got underfoot. I managed to miss the last two steps and land full weight on my left foot, and my ankle rolled. I felt things snap. My ankle immediately began to swell and I was in terrible pain. I called my stepdad to take me to hospital, but he was busy picking up my siblings, so I had to drive myself! At the ED, I was seen by a doc who thinks I'm a drug seeker. They only gave me Percocet and Vistaril, which barely took the edge off. After x-rays, a questionable visual exam, and medication, they discharged me with nothing more than a bag of ice.

I spent the weekend in agony, walking on my horribly mangled foot/ankle. On Monday morning I saw my GP and told her of my miserable hospital treatment, and she pulled up the records from my ED trip. Turns out I was supposed to be discharged in a splint and on crutches! I agreed to the splint, but since I'd been walking on it, I said to hell with the crutches. Over the rest of the week, the bruising began to fade, but the swelling persisted. Finally, this morning my mum called every orthopaedist she could find, to try and get someone to see me. She found one, and I went to my appointment right after she picked up my x-rays from the hospital. Turns out that the splint my GP had given me was insufficient in stabilizing my ankle. I am now stuck in a fancy Aircast until they tell me I can take it off. Joy. I will post an update soon with pictures of the evolution of my ankle, from right after the injury to whatever day I post.

As for why I was MIA for almost 8 months: 
Basically, I was used by a money grubbing idiot to scam an insurance company.
I got into a car accident in July of 2010. Some woman tried to beat a red light, I happened to be making a left turn, cars collided. About a year and a half later, someone shows up at our door and serves my mum and I a summons. The woman who hit me was suing us for $75,000. Because of this, I had to make my Facebook private, keep my Twitter posts vague, and shut down my blog. It sucked, I wanted to vent about this horrible woman and what she was doing to me and my family, but I had to keep quiet. She claimed she was disabled now, was owed emotional damages and back pay, etc. When we asked for her medical records, it showed she had a TON of pre-existing conditions. She had ignored the doctor's suggestion of PT and went to a chiropractor instead. She was on hardcore narcotics, like Fentanyl and Suboxone PRIOR to the accident! I was livid, she was making up lies! My theory is that she saw the new car (a gift for graduating high school from my parents) and that I was young (22 at the time of the accident) and saw easy money.

In November, the woman agreed to settle. She got $12,500. The law failed me. As for her inability to work and permanent disability? She now works in a coffee shop, which requires standing all day, and she attended/worked the 2012 Renaissance Festival. Basically, she flat out lied...And they paid her for it. Honestly, I'm just glad it's over. I want to forget.

New things in store for Falling Apart At The Seams this year:

• Product reviews! I'm going to try to find companies with useful products for those of us with limitations.
•  Giveaways! I'll be trying to get companies to donate products for me to give away. All will be geared towards disability, comfort, and assistance items.

So, in the famous words of Porky Pig; "Th-Th-Th- That's All Folks!"

-Jess

Long Time No See.

Let's just say my new year has been... rough.

Both of my dogs had procedures under anesthesia on Jan. 25th.
On Valentine's Day, I had to make the heartbreaking decision to put Oscar to sleep.
I have been to Mayo multiple times, and my body has just not been my friend.

That's not everything, but I don't feel like diving too deep right now.

I will be posting again soon, I promise!

Super Thankful Thanksgiving, Family Friends Lose Everything In Thanksgiving Eve House Fire

On the eve of Thanksgiving, some family friends were at home when a smoke alarm went off. They managed to call 911 and get out, however their dogs were trapped inside. The house burnt to the ground.

Video of the fire.

Photos of the fire.

This morning, they were sifting through the rubble when they found both dogs, alive, in the basement! However, everything else in the house was lost. The family has three kids, all still in school. Here's a link on how you can help, including a number you can call if you'd like to make a monetary donation:

Help the Haslett-Marroquin family.

Pass their story along to as many people as you can!
Thanks!

Help Me Win Some Toys For My Pups!

I entered Mika in a contest to win $200 in toys and gift cards, because we could really use it. If you feel like helping, here's how:

1. Follow the link: http://www.facebook.com/dogster?sk=app_285858081435238&app_data=1926
2. Allow the app
3. Repost the following on your blog & facebook:

Help Mika win a stash of bones in the Dogster/Doggyloot.com contest! All you have to do is follow the link, allow the app, and vote on Mika's picture, titled "Pizzletastic!", then pass this note on to your Blog & Facebook friends if you'd like! Thanks so much!
http://www.facebook.com/dogster?sk=app_285858081435238&app_da ta=1926

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We'd really appreciate the help, she's currently in 11th place!

Scary Morning Weather!

This morning I let my dogs back in, it had been overcast since yesterday. Less than 10 minutes later, it became extremely dark outside. Seconds later it began pouring like I haven't seen in years, literally like a giant tank overturned above our house. Then, the sound. I looked outside to see this:

Hail!
I cringed as I thought would've happened if my dogs would've been outside, a mini Dachshund and a Chihuahua vs. dime to quarter sized hail. Luck was on their side today.

Welcome to the family, Mika!

After three years of nagging, I was finally allowed to get another dog. Oscar is frequently bored and lonely, and could definitely use a companion, and my siblings wanted another dog, too.

After being rejected by one rescue over false info they refused to clarify, we finally found a good fit with a dog from Midwest Animal Rescue and Services!

So here she is!

Name: Mika
Breed: Chihuahua
Age: 11 months (we're putting her birthday at October 31st, 2010)
Weight: 9 pounds!
Color: Fawn with a couple dark patches on her tail and bum, and white toe socks

She is amazingly cute, you can learn more about her here:

#1 dog site for dogs & bipeds!

Also, I don't really have the cash to get her any cute outfits, and she's going to need them, as it's starting to get cold around here. So if you have any doggie outfits in size Medium, or other accessories that you no longer want/need, send me an email at jelsen@hotmail.com, because they'd be of great use to us!

I leave you with a video of Mika playing with a toad

Life Is Looking Up :)

It really is.

Oscar is almost 100% back to normal, acting like a total spaz.

I visited Becca on Thursday, she looks amazing, but don't take my word for it, here's a picture!

Oh, and I went from being unemployed to having 2 jobs, woo!

Dealing with my SECOND animal crisis this year, or, how owning a Dachshund is EXPENSIVE.

I swear, I'm cursed as far as animals go.

Last Thursday, I took my mini doxie, Oscar, to the vet. I'd found green discarge on his penis, he yelped when touched near his back end, and I worried he had a sheath infection. So off to the vet, who examines him, tries to get a urine sample (no dice) and then informs me that he's got some weakness in his back end. Okay, that was not what I was expecting. She put him on metacam and told me to call back on Monday to talk about how he's doing. Okay.

Cue Friday night. I go out to bring Oscar in (he loves the outdoors, and so he plays in the back yard during the day) and can't find him. I eventually do, hiding in the garage. I try to get him out of his hiding spot, and he starts screaming and biting me. I lost it and started sobbing, partially out of shock, pain, and knowing something is horribly wrong. I bring him inside and set him down. He attempts to go lay down, but his back legs are not cooperating. My mind reels, and I know that this is the start of a bad thing.

I calm myself enough to call the vet's office. It's 7:30pm on a Friday night, but the vet has his personal cell phone number left on the voicemail for emergencies. I call and explain what happened. He reassures me that Oscar will be fine until Monday, continue with his meds, and then tells me to take care of my wounds (Oscar broke the skin in several places when he bit me) fine.

Today comes, and I call the vet's office. I tell them Oscar has deteriorated significantly since Thursday. I ask for the soonest appointment, and it's set for 1pm. The time comes, and I load Oscar into the car, still in his bed. We get there and Dr. Rich examines him. I know what's coming, every Dachshund owner's worst nightmare, the prospect of Intervertebral Disc Disease. I voice my fears to Dr. Rich, and he agrees xrays are in order to see where the problem is.

On a bit of a side note, Dr. Rich knows I want to be a vet, and that I'm currently trying for my Animal Science degree. Because of this, he always keeps me 100% in the loop, and consults with me on care and such. He treats me like not only a customer and pet parent, but also a colleague. I see all test results, and we discuss them together. So when Oscar's xrays came back, we took a look, and though being closer to the brightness of the backlight and having a harder time seeing it originally, the problem was plain as day from my vantage point. A narrowing of the space between the L1 and L2 vertebrae. Classic IVDD.

My world collapsed a little. I knew what this meant. Oscar would need aggressive treatment if he was to regain the function he'd lost. Surgery is the best option, but unfortunately, I don't have $3000 to do that. That left only one option, steroids. We discussed outcomes and quality of life, agreeing that if he was in pain constantly, euthanasia would be the best option, but obviously we'd try what we could first. Dr. Rich said at one point that he'd like to try doing a lamenectomy sometime at their clinic. Obviously he's not a specialist, but he'd assisted on a few in vet school.

So it was that Oscar is now on steroids, in hopes he'll rally and all we'll have to do is modify what he can and cannot do, and he'll live a long, happy doxie life. Second best outcome is he'll only need a cart, and will live paralyzed but pain free. Worst outcome is he'll get worse and be in immense pain, at which point the decision will be to put him to sleep so he doesn't suffer. My mom and I talked about it, and if it comes to that point, we will offer Oscar to Dr. Rich to attempt a lamenectomy on, depending on how much it would cost. Obviously he's no expert, and hasn't ever done one himself, hasn't assisted on one in years, but if there's no other option, we'd at least give him a chance.

For now Oscar is confined to the laundry room, carried outside to go potty, and his activity is kept to a minimum. He's on prednisolone and tramadol, so every eight hours I shove a tramadol down his throat, and twice a day I do the same with the steroids. It's a pain in the ass, but I love him and would therefore do anything for him. All people entering the house are told to, under no circumstances, touch or otherwise engage the dog. Thankfully my mom and step-dad have been helping with potty breaks so that I get a break. All in all, I'm terrified, I can't lose my best buddy, I've already lost one animal that meant a ton to me this year, I don't want to lose another.

And that's been my life recently.
Prayers and healing thoughts would be much appreciated.
I hope things are going better for the rest of you.

Let's have a lighthearted post :)

These are the guinea pigs my roommate and I share, playing around in the bath. Feel free to repost at will :)

One Sick Puppy

I was going to make a post about my trip to the ENT on Monday, but unfortunately I've been dealing with a very sick dog all week, so I'll write about myself and the dog all at once.

Monday morning I had an appointment with the ENT about a fleshy lump in the back of my throat that was worrying me. However, the night before, my dog, Oscar, started acting out of character. He is a mini dachshund, and he was very quiet and still, which is not normal for that breed, really. He also screamed whenever I picked him up. Come morning, I drove him down to my vet and dropped him off, then headed to my appointment.

The ENT said the fleshy lump was most likely a re-growth of my tonsil tissue (I had my tonsils out years ago) and that it could be removed. After he finished examining me, he asked if I had any sinus issues. I've had sinus problems for a really long time, and so I told him yes. He asked if I suffered from sinus headaches, and again, I do. Then he asked me if it was worse on one side or the other, and I told him the left side bothered me a lot. Well, it turns out I have a deviated septum (common in EDS patients) that is pressing on one of my nasal turbinates and causing inflammation and other issues. He suggested I get a sinus CT and possibly surgery if it's fixable.

I am excited, not for another surgery, but for the fact that, maybe, I'll have fewer sinus headaches and infections! He said he could remove the tonsillar re-growth and possibly remove a couple of my lingual tonsils at the same time. I meet with him again on Monday to review my CT (I had it the same day) and talk options.

As for Oscar, he was exhibiting very bad symptoms for a dog. Extremely bloated and taut abdomen, hyper-salivation, pain, and lethargy. First the vet checked for GDV (aka bloat, and fatal if not remedied quickly) and that was negative. Then he had a barium series to check for an obstruction, which was also negative. So the vet basically said it was some mysterious gastrointestinal upset that he had no clue what it was, and prescribed Omeprazole and Mirtazapine, plus special easily digestible food.

Because Oscar has been sick and my family is refusing to do special feeding and give him medication, I've been staying at my family's house since last Friday, when I came home for the weekend and my Monday appointment. I'm really hoping he starts getting better soon, because I'd like to go back to my apartment.

Hope you all are having a better week!

P.S. My insurance dropped me, so I've been living without my Lyrica, which is not cool. They're supposed to re-add me since the law changed, but it's going to take a few weeks :(

The call every pet owner dreads.

This morning, I slept in, as I am wont to do on weekends. At some point I was awoken by the sound of the answering machine, and someone leaving a message about one of our cats. I thought she'd just gone to someone's house, and they were calling us to come get her. I was wrong.

The message told me she was gone, found by someone in their driveway, already expired. My world collapsed, my pets are my babies. I called the man back, asked him his address as my voice cracked and the tears fell. After that call I went through the motions, getting the kennel into the back of my car, the pain paralyzing, sobbing. I drove just to the street behind us. Parked sloppily, the hurt, the need to see her prompting me to rush.

The man stood in his driveway, the sadness obvious in his features. I walked up to him, hair wild, barefoot, in my pajamas, the tears streaming down my face. He explained to me that he'd found her there, in his driveway, not a scratch on her, but somehow lifeless. My heart broke as I looked down at the box he'd lain her in. I couldn't take it. I thanked him for his kindness and picked up the stiff body of my little girl, not bothering with the box, wanting to put her somewhere more familiar, more comfortable. I laid her gently in the kennel, on the blanket she'd come with from the humane society.

The young girls who live in the house behind us, and directly across the street from the man who found her, took notice of the situation as I carried her lifeless body to the car. They cried out her name, surrounded me, knew my pain. She'd spent lots of time making friends with them. I was hugged, consoled, but it all felt so foreign and uncomfortable. I just wanted to take her home. Eventually I escaped, driving home practically blind, unable to stop the cascade of tears and the sobs that wracked my body.

I got home and brought her into the yard. I sat, stroking her fur and examining her for any injuries. There wasn't a scratch, no signs she'd been hit by a car. Her body, however, showed me that she did not go peacefully. It was then that I realized that something more sinister may have happened to her. You see, not everyone is good. Some people are monsters. One of those monsters lives quite near to us. He has voiced his opinion on our cats, aimed kicks at them, and has even been seen harming his own dog. I am hoping I am wrong, that someone would not willingly harm such an innocent creature, but the signs are all there.

Monday morning I will take my sweet kitty to the vet one final time, to see if her demise was the result of a very despicable act, or a mere accident. And when she is buried, a piece of my heart will go with her.